Minutes before a District of Columbia Superior Court judge sentenced Darryl Hunter to 41 years in prison for fatally shooting a Forestville man, Hunter maintained his innocence.

"I sat here for two years and two trials and was falsely accused," Hunter, 37, of Washington, D.C., told Judge Michael Rankin on Jan. 15, referring to a hung jury in his first trial in April. When he was retried in September, the jury found him guilty Oct. 23 of first-degree murder in the death of 25-year-old Jason Dantley.

Turning to the members of Dantley's family who were present at Hunter's sentencing hearing, he told them he was not guilty.

"I'm sorry for your loss, but I can't say I'm remorseful," he said.

Prosecutors accused Hunter of shooting Dantley in the neck while carrying out an armed robbery in a District parking lot on Dec. 14, 2007. A co-conspirator, Xerses Alexander, 21, of the District  who pleaded guilty to homicide, conspiracy and armed robbery and testified against Hunter  was sentenced to 10 years in jail during a separate hearing Jan. 15 before D.C. Superior Court Judge Neal Kravitz.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Liebman, who prosecuted both cases, said that while the sentences were less than what he had asked for  Liebman requested 92 years in jail for Hunter and 11.5 years for Alexander  he believed "justice was served."

Dantley's mother, Carol Dantley, asked Rankin during the hearing to give Hunter the maximum sentence. She spoke about the pain of losing her son and the challenges of raising Dantley's 3-year-old daughter, Jazmine.

"I miss my child every day," she said after the hearing. "Am I happy with the sentence? He's not on the street."

Edward Dantley, the victim's father, said he was upset Hunter received less than half of what prosecutors requested.

"He should've gotten life," he said.

Hunter was represented by Lawrence Kupers and Lauren Bernstein, of the Public Defenders Service in the District. They could not be reached for comment by deadline.

Alexander's attorney, Daniel Quillin of the District, said he was satisfied with the outcome for his client.